Nestable pails with nesting alignment means

ABSTRACT

The invention provides like pails with like means for aligning the pails in a stack of nested pails so that their handles are aligned with one another. The aligning means comprises a peripheral flange projecting outwardly from the side wall of each pail, a radial slot in that peripheral flange displaced circumferentially from the pivot points of the pail&#39;s handle, and a depending tab projecting from that side wall. The slot and tab are aligned but displaced vertically from one another. When the pails are stacked in nested relation with the depending tab on one pail received by the radial slot in the next lower pail in the stack, the handles of the stacked pails will be aligned with one another.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to pails and more particularly to means foruniformly orienting pails when nested in one another to form a stack.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nestable containers are manufactured in a variety of forms for use inholding liquid and particulate materials. As a rule they have afrusto-conical shape, i.e., they have tapered side walls which may beflat or stepped. Making containers nestable so that they can beassembled in a stack reduces the amount of space required to accommodatethem. This is advantageous in terms of reducing warehousing space costs.It also reduces shipping costs due the minimizing freight vehicle spacerequirements.

However, nested containers must be denested before being used or beforebeing supplied to a station for filling with a liquid or particulatecommodity, e.g., an asphalt composition for coating driveways, swimmingpool chemical, fertilizer, detergent, or a foodstuff such as jam, peanutbutter, margarine, etc. In many industries, the denesting operation isconducted automatically by machinery that is designed to denestcontainers one by one and present them to a conveying means for deliveryto filling and capping equipment. A variety of such denesting equipmentis exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,764,273, issued Jul.20, 2004 to K. Freudelsperger; 4,983,098, issued Jan. 8, 1991 to R. A.Heisler; 4,157,767, issued Jun. 12, 1979 to G. T. Schjedahl; 4,082,203,issued Apr. 4, 1978 to G. T. Schjedahl; and 3,795,346, issued Mar. 5,1974 to T. V. Roberts et al.

A problem has existed with respect to denesting pails. As used hereinthe term “pail” means and denotes a nestable container having apivotally mounted arched handle (usually called a “bail”). Althoughdenesting equipment for pails is known (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.4,157,767 and 4,082,203, cited above), a problem has been encounteredwith denesting equipment in the case where the nested containers are notuniformly oriented in the stack that is to be denested, with the resultthat the handles of the nested containers are not aligned with oneanother. This non-alignment has tended to cause the denesting equipmentto jam, misfeed or damage the containers. Damage to the non-alignedcontainers is particularly likely where the containers are made of aplastic material such as polyethylene.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of this invention is to provide a means for aligningthe pails in a stack of nested pails so that their handles are alignedwith one another, whereby to facilitate automatic denesting of the pailsby operation of denesting apparatus.

Another object is to provide a means for interlocking a plurality ofpails in a nested stack so that their handles are aligned with oneanother.

A further object is to provide a means for aligning a group of pails ina nested stack so that their handles are all aligned with one another,such means being characterized in that they place no substantiallimitation on the size or ornamental design of the pails.

These and other objects are achieved by providing pails each having atleast one peripheral flange projecting outwardly from its side wall, aradial slot in the peripheral flange displaced circumferentially fromthe pivot points of the pail handle, and a depending tab formed integralwith and projecting from the side wall, with the tab being aligned withbut displaced vertically from the radial slot so that when said pailsare stacked the depending tab on one pail will be received by the radialslot in the next lower pail in the stack, whereby the handles of thestacked pails will be aligned with one another.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention are set forth inor rendered obvious by the following detailed description of theinvention which is to be considered together with the accompanydrawings.

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a pail embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same pail (with handle omitted)rotated 90° from the viewpoint of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is fragmentary sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is side elevation showing a pair or pails in nested relation.

FIG. 6 is fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is side elevation of a pair of nested pails taken from theviewpoint of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning to FIGS. 1-4, there is shown a container 2 comprising a sidewall 4 and a bottom wall 6. The side wall 4 is tapered inwardly from topto bottom as shown. By way of example but not limitation, side wall 4may have a draft angle of about 4°. The top end of the container is openbut the top end is provided with a peripheralcircumferentially-extending bead or ridge 10. The latter serves toresist distortion of the top end of the pail and also is intended toserve as a locking element for a cover (not shown) for the container.The container also has three additional outwardly-projecting peripheralflanges 12, 14 and 16 disposed in the order named below locking bead 10.At least flanges 12 and 16 project radially beyond the periphery of bead10. Preferably flange 14 also projects beyond the periphery of bead 10.Flanges 12, 14 and 16 serve to offer resistance to buckling of the sidewall and also serve an aesthetic purpose. Formed integral with andprojecting from the bottommost flange 16 and the adjacent side wall 4are a plurality of narrow vertically-extending, circumferentially-spacedfins 18 that serve as spacer elements as hereinafter described.

Since the container is designed to be used as a pail, it is providedwith two pivot anchors 20 for pivotally securing a handle 22. The twopivot anchors are diametrically opposed to one another. In theillustrated embodiment of the invention, each pivot anchor 20 comprisesa pair of parallel mutually-spaced struts 24A and 24B and a shortauxiliary side wall 26 that extends between those struts parallel to andspaced from container side wall 4. Struts 24A and 24 b and side wall 26extend between and are formed integral with flanges 14 and 16. Struts24A and 24B also are formed integral with container side wall 4 andflange 16 is recessed between struts 24A and 24B. As a result each pairof struts 24A and 24B and the connecting side wall 26 define a pocketopen at its lower end that accommodates the bent end 28 of the U-shapedportion of handle 22 Additionally each side wall 26 is formed with ahole 30 (FIGS. 2 and 4) that serves as a pass-through for the bent endof handle 22. Holes 30 are sized to allow the handle to pivot relativeto the two pivot anchors. Alternatively, holes 30 could be replaced witha keyhole-shaped slot as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,291, issuedAug. 14, 2001 to Rino Conti.

Turning now to FIGS. 1-3, formed integral with the bottommost flange 16is a depending tab 34 that is spaced from the side wall 4 of thecontainer and preferably, as shown in FIG. 3, the tab extends verticallyparallel to the center axis of the container. Additionally, the tab isdisplaced angularly from the two handle pivot anchors 20. Preferably,but not necessarily, the tab is located midway between the two bothpivot anchors 20 as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the tab could belocated closer to one than the other of the two anchor means. Preferablythe tab is in line with one of the spacer fins 18. Alternatively the tabmay be located so that it is not aligned with a spacer fin 18, in whichcase the portion of flange 16 where the tab is located is molded with anincreased thickness (FIG. 6) to provide additional strength for the tab.

The container also is formed with a slot 36 in the first or top flange12. Slot 36 is located in vertical alignment with the tab and has awidth (the horizontal dimension as viewed in FIG. 1) that is sized so asto accommodate the lower end of the tab 34 of another like container.Preferably, but not necessarily, the tab is tapered, having a smallerwidth at its bottom than it has at its top end. The length of the tab issuch as to be able to penetrate the slot 36 of another like containerwhere the two containers are nested one inside the other. The width ofthe slot (the horizontal dimension as viewed in FIG. 1) is large enoughto readily accommodate tab 34 but not so great as to assure properalignment of the containers as herein contemplated. By way of examplebut not limitation, for a 5 gallon pail having a maximum diameter ofabout 11.8 inches at it top end, the width of slot 36 may be about 0.63inch and the width of tab 34 will vary from a maximum with of about 0.41inch at its fixed top end to a minimum width of about 0.19 inch at itsfree bottom end.

A number of containers 2 may be stacked in nesting relation one on topof the other in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. Although thesefigures show only two nested containers 2A and 2B, it is to beunderstood that a larger number of containers may be nested together inthe same manner to form a relatively tall stack. As seen in FIGS. 5-7,upper container 2A is supported by virtue of its spacer fins 18 engagingthe locking bead 10 of lower container 2B, with the spacer fins assuringthat the bottom wall 6A of the upper container is spaced from the bottomwall 6B of the lower container. In this nested position the tab 34 ofupper container 2A penetrates and extends through the slot 36 in flange12 of the lower container, preferably protruding about ⅛th inch belowthat flange 12. Addition or more like containers to form a relativelytall stack of nested containers is accomplished by orienting eachadditional container so that its tab 34 is aligned with the slot 36 ofthe next lower container. As result and with reference to FIG. 7, thepivot anchors 20 of the several nested containers will be aligned in acommon vertical plane, thereby making it possible for the handles 22 ofthe nested containers to hang down on the same the side. The handles mayhang down on the side of the containers opposite from the location oftabs 34 (as shown in FIG. 7) or they may be flipped over so as to hangdown on the same side as the tabs 34 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5). It isto be understood also that, depending on the particular apparatus usedto denest the containers for filling, the containers may be aligned andstacked with some of the handles hanging down on one side and theremaining handles hang down on the other side of the stack. If desiredthe handles may be configured so that when they are hanging down theirgrip portions 40 do not touch the side wall of a container. A furtherpossible modification is to modify the spacer fins 18 to change thespacing between flange 16 of one container and the locking bead of thenext lower container in a nested stack.

The invention has a number of advantages. For one thing the inventioncan be embodied in containers of different sizes and aesthetic designs.For another thing, the alignment tabs 34 and slots 36 do not undulycomplicate the injection molding process. Most importantly, a stack ofnested containers with their handle pivot anchors in mutual alignment asherein described and illustrated can be accommodated by de-nestingequipment without fear that a handle will be so misaligned as to causemalfunctioning of the de-nesting equipment or possible damage to themisaligned container. By way of example, the denesting equipment may belike the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,203 (cited supra) where tineelements are used to elevate handles 22 in the denesting operation orlike the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,098 (also cited supra) wherelug members engage protruding portions of the containers, e.g., theflanges 12 or 16, to effect separation. In this connection and withreference to FIG. 2, it is contemplated that the containers 22 may beformed without the two spacer lugs 18A and 18B located immediately belowthe two handle pivot anchors in the case where the denesting equipmentis designed to engage the underside of flange 16 to effect separation ofnested containers.

The invention may be practiced other than as described above andillustrated in the drawings. Thus, for example, the intermediate flange14 could be eliminated. Alternatively the flange 12 could be eliminatedand the slot 36 formed in flange 14. The latter modification may requirevarying the spacing between flanges 14 and 16 in order to assure thatthe tab 34 on one container will penetrate the slot 36 in the next lowercontainer. It also is contemplated that each container may have morereinforcing flanges than the three flanges 12, 14 and 16, but in eachcase the slot will be in the uppermost reinforcing flange. It is alsocontemplated that the slot 36 may be formed in a radially-extendingprojection that is formed integral with side wall 4 but extends aroundthe periphery of the container through an angle less than 360°. Anotherpossible modification is to form the tab 34 as a separate memberattached to and projecting from the side wall of the container insteadof molding it as an extension of a circumferentially-extending flange,e.g., flange 16. Also the container may be formed with more than onealigning tab, with a slot 36 being provided for each tab.

Still other advantages and modifications of the invention will beobvious to persons skilled in the art.

1. A plurality of pails each comprising a nestable container with ahandle pivotally attached to said container at two points, eachcontainer comprising a side wall, means including a radially-extendingslot projecting outwardly from said side wall, said slot being spacedcircumferentially from said two points, and a depending tab attached toand spaced from said side wall, said tab being spaced circumferentiallyfrom said two points and aligned with but spaced vertically from saidradial slot so that when said pails are stacked with their containersnested inside one another, said depending tab on one container will bereceived by the radial slot in the next lower container in the stack,whereby the handles of the stacked pails will be aligned with oneanother.
 2. A plurality of pails according to claim 1 wherein eachcontainer comprises a peripheral flange projecting outwardly from saidside wall, and further wherein said depending tab is formed integralwith said peripheral flange.
 3. A plurality of pails according to claim1 wherein said means including a radially-extending slot comprises aperipheral flange projecting outwardly from said side wall.
 4. Aplurality of pails according to claim 3 wherein said peripheral flangehas an outer edge and said slot intersects said outer edge.
 5. Aplurality of pails according to claim 1 wherein said container has a topend and a bottom end and said means including a radially-extending slotcomprises a first peripheral flange projecting outwardly from said sidewall, and further wherein said tab is formed integral with a secondperipheral flange projecting outwardly from said side wall, said firstperipheral flange being located between said top end and said secondperipheral flange.
 6. A plurality of pails according to claim 1 whereinsaid tab has a top end and a bottom end, and further wherein said tab istapered so that its said bottom end is narrower than its said top end.7. A plurality of pails according to claim 1 wherein said containers aremade of a resilient plastic.
 8. A pail comprising a container and ahandle pivotally attached to said container at two points, eachcontainer comprising a side wall, at least one peripheral flangeprojecting outwardly from its side wall, a radially-extending slot insaid peripheral flange spaced circumferentially from said two points,and a depending tab attached to and spaced from said side wall, said tabbeing spaced circumferentially from said two points and aligned with butspaced vertically from said radial slot so that when a plurality of saidpails are stacked with their containers nested inside one another, saiddepending tab on one container will be received by the radial slot inthe next lower container in the stack, whereby the handles of thestacked pails will be aligned with one another.
 9. A pail according toclaim 8 wherein said container comprises a second peripheral flangeprojecting outwardly from said side wall, and further wherein saiddepending tab is formed integral with said second peripheral flange. 10.A pail according to claim 9 wherein said container has a top end and abottom end, and said second peripheral flange is located between saidbottom end and said first-mentioned peripheral flange.
 11. A pailaccording to claim 8 wherein said tab has a top end and a bottom end,and further wherein said tab is tapered so that its said bottom end isnarrower than its said top end.
 12. A pail according to claim 8 whereinsaid flange has an outer edge and said radially-extending slotintersects said outer edge.
 13. A pail according to claim 8 wherein saidcontainer has a top end and a bottom end, and said side wall is taperedwith its bottom end having a smaller diameter than its top end.
 14. Aplurality of pails each comprising a nestable container, each containercomprising a side wall, first and second mutually spaced handle pivotanchors formed integrally with and projecting outwardly of said sidewall, said first and second handle pivot anchors being adapted topivotally receive and hold the opposite ends of a handle, at least oneperipheral flange projecting outwardly from said side wall, a slot insaid peripheral flange spaced circumferentially from said handle pivotanchors, and a depending tab attached to and spaced outwardly from saidside wall, said tab being spaced circumferentially from said first andsecond handle pivot anchors and aligned with but spaced vertically fromsaid slot so that when said pails are stacked with their containersnested inside one another, said depending tab on one container will bereceived by the slot in the next lower container in the stack, wherebythe handle pivot anchors of the stacked pails will be aligned in acommon vertically-extending plane.
 15. A plurality of pails according toclaim 14 wherein each container has a bottom end and a top end, andfurther wherein each container has a second peripheral flange extendingoutwardly from said side wall, said second peripheral flange beinglocated between first mentioned peripheral flange and said bottom end ofsaid container and said tab being formed integral with said secondflange.
 16. A plurality of pails according to claim 14 wherein saidfirst and second pivot anchors are spaced from one another by an angleof 180°.
 17. A plurality of pails according to claim 13 wherein eachpail comprises a handle pivotally attached to said first and secondhandle pivot anchors.